


More Art Than Matter

by Ravenclawsome



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/M, I Don't Even Know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-11 15:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3330833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenclawsome/pseuds/Ravenclawsome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All my NMTD writing that was too short to merit a full story. It's the collection of drabbles nobody asked for!<br/>This is probably mostly going to be Beadick, not gonna lie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Know You Of Old

When Beatrice stepped out the door that day, she had no idea that things were about to change. 

As she walked down the street to the park where she was meeting Pedro, she didn’t stop to wonder if her world was about to shift under her feet. 

She couldn’t possibly have known that something was beginning, something amazing and frustrating and absolutely brilliant. 

And even if she’d been able to go back in time and tell herself that things would never be the same, fourteen year old Beatrice probably wouldn’t have listened. She would’ve been more interested in the mechanics of time travel than with some weird boy. 

Beatrice didn’t notice him at first, when she got to the park. She was more focused on finding Pedro and the others, she wasn’t paying attention to anyone else. She actually shoved past him on her way to hug her friends. 

Then she turned, and she saw him. 

It wasn’t fireworks. It wasn’t anything. It was just another one of Pedro’s friends. She smiled, introduced herself, then started recounting her school year. 

“It was beautiful. Ha! BEA-utiful!” Beatrice giggled. She knew nobody else would think it was funny, Pedro and Meg were both rolling their eyes. 

But that boy laughed. 

Benedick laughed. 

And her world shifted. 


	2. Hypocrisy

“No dating? That is so ridiculous!" Beatrice said over the phone." Why would anyone have such a negative view of relationships?”  Benedick didn't respond, but she could tell he was giving her a look. 

“Right. Yeah, you’re right. Point taken.” Beatrice conceded. 

“Apparently his girlfriend broke up with him over the summer,” Ben said. “He thinks we’ll do better in school if we don’t have any ‘distractions’, his words.”

“Oh come on, just because he got his heart broken isn’t an excuse to act stupid, I mean…” Beatrice trailed off. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

“Just a little bit, yeah.”

“Damn it.”


	3. What is Love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know with this one. My version of Freddie has no basis on anything, so I'll probably look back on this after LLL and be like "woah, that's not what he should sound like!" But until then, here's some Freddie Ben interaction. Bea and Ben are hiding their relationship from the others at this point, fyi.

“I don’t know man, what is love?” Freddie asked Ben after they'd finished the dishes. “And don’t say ‘baby don’t hurt me.’”

“You know me too well,” Benedick smirked. 

“I’m serious,” Freddie said, falling onto the couch and trying to ignore the squeak of old springs. “I mean, I thought my ex loved me, but then she left and now I don't know what to think anymore.

“Did she say why?” Ben asked, joining Freddie on the couch. 

“Not really,” Freddie sighed. “She gave some weird answer about it not ‘being the right moment’ for us and how she was ‘tired of pretending.’” He recited the words with a resigned finality, like they were burned into his brain. “If that’s love, never knowing where you stand and getting your heart broken, I don’t need that shit in my life.”

“That’s not love,” Ben said. He sounded so sure of himself that Freddie looked up in surprise. 

“How do you know?” he asked.

“Because I’ve been in love,” Benedick answered, “and that’s not it.”

“Didn’t you and your girlfriend break up?”

“Well, yeah, but it wasn’t because we didn’t love each other.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, why—“ 

“The point is,” Ben interrupted, “love shouldn’t be dramatic. I mean, okay, _getting there_ can be dramatic, but once you find it things should be easier.”

“I don’t follow,” Freddie said. 

“Right, okay.” Ben looked so determined to find a good analogy, to convince Freddie that he had it wrong. “Think about it this way, love shouldn’t be like _Romeo and Juliet._ ”

“Romeo and Juliet? Arguably the most famous romantic couple ever?”

“Famous does not equal functional,” Ben said. “Romeo just thought Juliet was sexy, and she thought he was a charming bad boy. Neither of them actually _liked_ each other. If they’d stayed alive long enough to live together, they would’ve gotten divorced.”

“So what you’re saying is, I shouldn’t pretend to kill myself to win back my girlfriend?”

“I’m saying, you need to be friends before you’re anything else. Loving somebody is about being there for each other. And it’s about communication, that’s an important one.”

“I mean, we talked,” Freddie mumbled. “I thought we talked…”

Ben was looking down at the friendship bracelet on his wrist. It was red with gold stripes, like a tiny Gryffindor scarf, and Freddie had never seen Ben without it. 

“What was she like?” he asked. “Your ex?” 

Ben got a faraway look in his eyes, and he ran his thumb along the bracelet. 

“She’s incredible,” he said. “I was a judgmental idiot, and she made me want to change. I never got tired of talking to her, even when we disagreed. She was funny, and smart as hell, and she didn’t take shit from anyone. She is…” Ben trailed off. “She was my best friend.” 

“Melanie wasn’t my best friend,” Freddie said, after a moment. “I don’t think I ever saw her like that.”

“I mean, I can’t tell you about your relationship,” Ben said. “I wasn’t there. Hell man, I’ve dated one girl in my entire life. I can’t claim to be an expert.”

“I don’t know, it kinda sounds like you can,” Freddie said. Ben smirked, but there was still something melancholy in his eyes. “What happened with her?” Freddie asked.

“Who?”

“Your ex.”

“University happened,” Ben sighed. “She’s in Auckland, saving up to travel, and I’m here. Plus, you know, the whole ‘no relationships’ thing…”

Freddie felt like someone had dropped a brick into his stomach.

“Is that why you didn’t want to sign the roommate agreement?” He asked. “Shit Ben, I thought you said you were single!”

“I am!” Ben said, maybe too quickly. “I mean, we decided long distance was stupid, so we’re technically not dating.”

“But after this year?”

Benedick grinned. 

“I've got no idea, mate,” he said. “I’ll let you know.”

Suddenly, a muffled song started playing from somewhere in the room. Freddie didn’t recognize the tune, but apparently Benedick did. 

“It’s my phone,” he said, frantically extracting it from his pocket. “It’s my… mum. Yeah, my mum. I’m gonna go take this to my room, for— yep. That’s where I’ll….” Ben bolted from the room without offering up any further explanation.

Freddie watched him go, wondering whether or not to follow him and spy on his conversation. He might be talking to his mom, or maybe…

Maybe it was time to rethink the relationship policy. 


	4. 8 AM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Context: Takes place during LLL. Bea and Ben are dating in secret, but Bea's still living in Auckland.

Benedick walked through the door of the flat, threw his bag on the floor and collapsed onto the couch. He hated 8 AM classes, they always made him grumpy and tired for the rest of the day. 

“Hey sleepyhead,” Rosa said, waltzing into the room with a coffee and a mug of tea. “I thought you might need this.” She set the tea down on the table next to Ben’s head, and his eyes shot open. 

“Rosa,” he mumbled, “you are my favorite Jones.” 

“Oh, come on,” she said, sitting down in a chair across from Ben and sipping her coffee. “Don’t let Balthy hear you say that.”

“Let him hear it, he’s never made me tea,” Ben pushed himself up to a sitting position, then took the mug in his hands like it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Sooo, something interesting happened this morning while you were at class,” Rosa said. 

“Rosa, nothing interesting happens this early in the morning, trust me.” Ben said, blowing gently on his tea. 

“Well, something _unusual_ happened, anyway,” Rosa corrected. “Someone came to the door looking for you. A girl.”

“What?” Ben asked, still trying to fully wake up. “What girl?”

“I didn’t know her,” Rosa said. “She seemed surprised when I opened the door, and she asked if you lived here. I said you did, but you were at class, so she left. It was weird,” Rosa looked over at the door like she wanted to remember exactly what had happened. “She kept looking over her shoulder like she was worried someone would see her. Do you have any friends who are on the run from the police?”

“I don’t think so,” Ben said, taking a sip of his tea. God, it was too early to even function. “Did she tell you her name?”

“Crap,” Rosa’s brow furrowed. “I can’t remember. She said it once, but I was a little distracted. I was right in the middle of the _Agent Carter_ season finale, so my mind wasn’t exactly focused.”

“Well, what did she look like?” Ben asked.

“Like hell, actually,” Rosa said, smirking. “Her hair was all messy and she looked like she hadn’t been sleeping.”

“Not helpful.”

“I don’t know,” Rosa said, dismissively. “Blonde?”

Ben nearly choked on his tea. 

“You okay?” Rosa asked with alarm.

“Fine!” Ben coughed. “Just fine!” _Calm down Ben,_ he thought, _it’s not her. She’s far away, and there are a million blonde people in the world._ “So, uh, this girl,” he said, trying to sound calm and collected. “I mean, did she say how she knew me?” _Did she look like the most amazing person on the planet?_

“All she said was that she was looking for you, and when I said you weren’t here she said ‘thanks anyway,’ and left. Hang on—“ Rosa scrunched up her face like she was thinking hard. “Duchess? Like something duchess?” 

Benedick stared at Rosa. _It couldn’t be… she’s in Auckland…_

“Duke?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Hey, yeah!” Rosa smiled. I think that was it. Something Duke.”

_Calm down, calm down, calm down._ Ben felt like his stomach was floating up into his chest. _It could still be Hero, it could be someone completely unrelated—_

“Like Bella… Buh something. Buh Duke.” Rosa concluded. 

“Beatrice.” Benedick could barely stop the name escaping his mouth. 

“That’s it!” Rosa said, triumphantly. “Beatrice Duke. So you know her? She wasn’t an escaped convict trying to steal all your stuff?

Benedick wasn’t listening. 

_BeatriceBeatriceBeatrice._

She had been there, at his flat, and he’d missed her! 

Benedick made a mental note never to sign up for an 8 AM class ever again. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love something like this to happen in LLL. Maybe I'll continue it? Who knows.


	5. 8 AM (2)

Beatrice hadn't meant to show up at Ben’s door at 8:30 on a Monday morning. Ever since she’d nearly fallen asleep at the wheel on her drive up to Wellington, the only thing she’d been able to think about was her destination. Now that she was finally here, and full of tea and muffins, her common sense began to kick in. 

It was ridiculous that she was here. _Ridiculous._ She’d risked Ben’s place in the flat, their relationship secrecy, everything they’d worked on for the past few months, just because she’d been thrown into a panic by some guy she barely knew. 

And then the girl. The girl hadn't helped. 

Beatrice was snuggled down in a comfy chair in the corner of a coffee shop, earl grey sitting on a table beside her and a banana nut muffin balanced on her knee. It was the first place she’d seen after she bolted from Ben’s flat, and she’d been resting there for the past three hours. She wondered hazily if the staff would kick her out if she fell asleep. 

She took another bite of her muffin, trying to blink the tiredness out of her eyes. By her closest estimation, she’d been awake for twenty two hours. She could hear Hero’s voice in her head, like she always did whenever she made questionable decisions. 

_“You drove for how long?”_

_“You didn’t even tell anyone where you were going?”_

_“Didn’t you have any sort of plan for what you would do when you got there?_

_“What were you thinking, Bea?”_

What had she been thinking? What had happened to her life in the past year to make it so dramatic?

Sunday afternoon, everything had been normal. She’d been sitting in her room after work, writing a letter to Ben. They’d agreed it was the best way to communicate without any of the others catching on. Ben’s flatmates were always stealing his phone and his laptop, so Bea knew it wouldn’t take them long to start digging through his texts. But as it was Ben’s job to collect the mail for the entire flat, he could hide Bea’s letters before anyone else saw them. 

She’d been in the middle of writing a particularly hilarious story about a crazy customer at the bookstore who’d asked her where to find the “8th Harry Potter book,” when someone had knocked on her door. 

“Come in!” She said, quickly sliding one of her Game of Thrones books over to cover the incriminating letter. She was expecting Hero, maybe one of her aunties, but it wasn’t. 

It was Simon.

Simon was one of Hero’s friends, he’d moved to Auckland about a week before Ben and everyone had left for university. Beatrice hadn’t talked to him much, but he was always around in her peripheral vision. 

“Simon, hey,” Beatrice said. “What are you doing here?”

“Not much,” Simon shrugged, leaning up against the doorway. “Or I guess, uh, _nothing much?”_

“Nicely done,” Beatrice smiled, politely. It was cute, she supposed, that Simon had watched their vlogs. She suspected he had a little crush on Hero, he’d been hanging around the house a lot recently. Still, it was weird meeting somebody who had met her first through her videos. Beatrice almost felt like he’d read through her diary. She really had put a lot of personal stuff up online, but she couldn’t bring herself to take the videos down. They were like a living scrapbook of her life. A really important, weird, crazy section of her life that she didn’t want to forget. 

“So, where’s Hero?” Beatrice asked, trying to surreptitiously nudge more papers over her letter. “Are you two hanging out?”

“Well, actually,” Simon said, stepping into the room, “I was looking for you.”

“What?” Beatrice stared at him. “Why?”

“Um, okay, this might sound weird.” Simon was biting his lip, looking up at Beatrice with a small smile. “But I was wondering… d’you want to go get coffee with me sometime?”

Beatrice stopped dead. Everything in her mind slowed down, except for one phrase that floated up to the front of her brain. 

_“I could be your prince charming.”_

No, no no no no no. This was not happening. Not again. Had he been hanging out with Hero just so he could get closer to her? God, why hadn’t she realized what was going on? He was always trying to get her to laugh, and he always tried to sit by her when she went out with Hero and her friends. She was such an idiot.

Simon must’ve noticed that Beatrice looked like she'd been knocked in the head with a football, because his smile faded. 

“Um, Bea? You okay?” 

“Yeah,” she blurted. “Yes, yeah fine. I’m fine. It’s just— woah. I, uh, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“So is that a yes?” Simon wiggled his eyebrows, and Beatrice felt nauseous.

“I’m sorry, Simon,” she said, avoiding his gaze. “You seem cool, I’m sure you’re  great guy, but I’m not really, you know. Looking to… get coffee. With anybody.”

Simon frowned. 

“It’s because of your ex, isn’t it?” He said, crossing his arms. “Hero told me you weren’t over him, but I don’t get it. I would never call you a bitch face like that asshole did.”

Beatrice stood up so fast that Simon nearly tripped over backwards in alarm. She marched over to him and stared him down, inches from his started face. 

“I said no, it’s none of your business why,” Beatrice said sharply. “Now you have five seconds to get the hell out of my room.”

Simon didn’t need to be told twice. 

When he had gone, Beatrice walked back to her desk chair in a haze. She slumped down into it, letting it spin lazily. 

What the hell had just happened?

In her life, Beatrice had now been asked out twice. Both times, she’d said no. Well, one time she’d just laughed, but the ‘no’ had been implied. If she didn’t have Ben, she might’ve felt like Elizabeth Bennet. 

Ben. Ben was different. Ben had just sort of happened. There hadn’t been an awkward “do you want to go out with me” type of thing, they’d just fallen together in the aftermath of Hero’s party. It’d been so natural, almost inevitable, really. 

And suddenly, Beatrice felt like a black hole had opened up in her chest, pulling her heart and her breath and everything she was into nothingness. 

She missed him. She missed him so much she felt her heart beating faster and tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want to write him any letters. She wanted to _see_ the grin on his face when she described how the crazy customer had demanded to be shown the 8th Harry Potter book. How she’d had to call her manager to assure the woman that really, it didn’t exist. She wanted to hear him say something sarcastic and ridiculous that made her laugh like nothing else could. She wanted to hear him joke in front of their friends that he’d never liked her, then swear to her later that he’d never loved anyone else. She wanted to argue something pointless for five hours until they both forgot what they’d been talking about. She missed every single annoying, incredible, adorable thing about him. 

Beatrice couldn’t sleep that night. She stayed up reading every one of Ben’s letters. Twice. 

At midnight, she made her decision. 

She threw some things into a bag, grabbed her car keys, and scribbled a quick note to Hero and the aunties. 

 

_I’ll be back later, don’t worry about me._

_I’ll call tomorrow,_

_Bea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm continuing this! You guys gotta understand, I get bored during class sometimes and this just happens. I have no control...


	6. 8 AM (3)

Ben was frantically pacing around the flat when Pedro got up for class. 

“Ben?” he said, groggily. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Ben said. “Nothing at all, things are completely normal. Nothing weird or unusual happening in any way.”

Pedro blinked. Ben looked anxious, and there were four empty tea mugs on the coffee table. And judging by the tea bags…

“Were you drinking earl grey?” Pedro asked, walking over for a closer look. “I thought you stopped drinking that after—“ 

“Those are Rosa’s,” Ben said, quickly. “Yeah, she really really likes earl grey, apparently. Who knew, am I right?” He attempted a smile, but Pedro wasn’t buying it. 

“Ben—“

“Don’t, Pedro,” Ben said, giving him a defeated look. “I really don’t want to talk about it.” 

Pedro knew that look. It was the same one Ben had the day he and Beatrice broke up. 

“Okay,” Pedro said. “Whatever you say, man. You want to get lunch when I come back from class?”

“Definitely,” Ben’s smile returned, and he waved feebly as Pedro grabbed his bag and walked out the door.

Poor Ben. Pedro had witnessed him and Bea’s break up fight, and it hadn’t been good. It might’ve been easier if they’d both been furious with each other, but instead they’d just been frustrated and miserable. They’d wanted to be together _so_ badly, but it just hadn’t worked out. If Ben looked that beaten down again, something must’ve happened to remind him of Beatrice. Seeing him so sad almost made Pedro feel guilty for the phone call he was about to make. 

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“I know.”

“I know you know,” Pedro grinned. 

“What’s going on?” Balthazar asked. “Don’t you have class right now?”

“Not for another forty five minutes,” Pedro said, walking down the street and looking around to make sure nobody he knew could hear him. “How was your gig on Saturday?”

“Fine. There were more people than I thought there would be, so that was terrifying.”

“I’m really sorry I missed it,” Pedro said, pushing open the door to his favorite coffee shop.

“I know you are.”

“No, really,” Pedro insisted. “Freddie had us doing this flat-bonding thing, hang on…” He put the phone down as he approached the counter. “Hey, could I get a medium latte to go? Thanks.” The woman behind the counter glanced tiredly at his phone before rolling her eyes and going to make his coffee. 

“I’m back,” Pedro said into his phone, “and I’m still sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“I didn’t play anything you haven’t heard before,” Balthazar said, as Pedro dug in his bag for his wallet. “Just the usual. I think the Mumford and Sons covers went over really well.”

“Because they’re amazing— thank you,” Pedro said, paying the woman and taking his latte. “I mean, that’s what the reviewer said.” 

“What?” Pedro could picture Balthazar’s surprised face in his mind’s eye, it was really attractive. “What reviewer? Who reviewed me?”

“Some music blogger who goes around to shows in the area. I printed it out, hold on.”

Pedro walked over to one of the comfy chairs in the corner, sitting down and rummaging around in his bag for the papers. He barely registered the girl slumped into the chair across from him. 

“I don’t know Balth, I must’ve left them in my room,” Pedro said, frowning. “I got distracted by Benedick, he was acting really weird this morning. I think maybe something’s happened to remind him of—“

Pedro looked up from his bag, and his voice died in his throat. 

Beatrice Duke was staring at him wide eyed from across the coffee table. 

 

***

 

Benedick stared frustratedly at his phone, considered his options, and dialed Beatrice’s number again. He had called at least ten times already, but he kept getting her voicemail. 

“ _Hullo there, you’ve reached Beatrice Duke’s phone. I’m not around right now, but you can leave a message—“_

_“Or not.”_

_“Shut up, loser. Anyway, if you have a message for me, you can leave it after the beep.”_

_“Or if you have a message for me, I’m normally here as well, so…”_

_“You dork.”_

Benedick hung up before the phone had a chance to beep. 


	7. 8 AM (4)

Beatrice couldn’t believe it. Of all the people to walk into this coffee shop…

“Beatrice?” Pedro asked, like he thought he might be seeing things. He looked dumbstruck, and his phone was hanging limply in his hand. 

“Hey Pedro,” Beatrice said, hesitantly. 

“Pedro?” came a tinny voice, barely audible, from Pedro’s phone. “You still there?” Beatrice’s eyes widened. It _couldn’t_ be… 

The voice drew Pedro out of his shock, and he returned the phone quickly to his ear. 

“I’m gonna have to call you back,” he said, eyeing Beatrice warily. “Yeah, I’ll explain later. I lo—“ he broke off. “I’ll talk to you soon.” He dropped the phone into his bag and shifted in his chair to face Beatrice. She stared him down. 

_“Come on, ask me about Ben,”_ she thought. _“I dare you.”_

“You’re not supposed to be here,” Pedro said, finally. “You two broke up, I saw it.”

“Funny,” Beatrice said. “I seem to remember Balthazar writing you a particularly depressing song of heartbreak a few months ago.”

“Yeah,” Pedro said, uncomfortably. “That definitely happened.” 

They fell into silence again, each waiting for the other to make the next move. 

“Listen,” Beatrice said, curling herself into a better sitting position. “Clearly neither of us is fooling anybody.” She took a deep breath. “Ben and I got back together about a week after the fight.”

“I should’ve known,” Pedro grimaced. “I’m surprised you even lasted a week without each other, really.” Beatrice ignored the comment, looking at him expectantly. “Right,” he continued. “Balthy and I never actually broke up, he just wrote the song to cover our tracks.”

“That is so… so _sneaky_ ,” Beatrice said, sitting back in her chair in contemplation. “God, this stupid ‘no relationships’ rule is just creating all the drama it was trying to prevent, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, basically,” Pedro chuckled. 

The two smiled at each other, and Beatrice realized she couldn’t stay annoyed at him. He was her friend, after all. 

“It’s actually really good to see you, Pedro,” she said. 

“You too, Bea,” he answered, smiling. 

“And don’t worry,” Beatrice added, quickly. “I won’t tell anyone about you and Balthy.”

“Thank you,” Pedro said. He sounded relieved. “Same with you and Ben, absolutely.”

“How is he?” Beatrice asked before she could stop herself. “I tried to see him this morning, but he wasn’t there. And there was a girl I didn’t know…”

“What, Rosa?” Pedro said, furrowing his brow. “You know her, she’s Balthazar’s sister.”

“That was _Rosa_?” Beatrice’s mouth fell open. “Oh my god, I should’ve realized. I haven’t seen her in so long, and I was so tired I guess her face just didn’t register in my brain.”

“You still seem pretty tired, are you sure you’re okay?” Pedro asked, giving her a once over. 

“I’m fine,” she snapped. “So… so Ben?”

“Right,” Pedro said. He still looked worried about her, but apparently he decided to let it slide. “Ben’s okay. This morning he seemed really off, but I guess he must’ve heard about your visit. Have you called him, or anything?”

“I- I forgot my phone at home,” Beatrice said, sheepishly. 

“What?” Pedro asked, in shock. “How did you do that?”

“Well _you_ try and pack thoroughly at 12:30 in the morning!” Beatrice countered, throwing her hands in the air. “I barely brought anything, I don’t know what I was thinking…” 

Suddenly, the magnitude of what she’d done seemed to sink in. Beatrice felt ridiculous, she should never have come to Wellington. It was an overreaction to an awkward situation, and now Ben was probably stressing out because of her.

“I have to go home,” she whispered.

“What?”

“I shouldn’t be here,” she said, a little louder. “I’m going to drive back to Auckland, I’ll just mess things up otherwise.” She started to stand up, but Pedro pushed himself out of his chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Beatrice,” he said, his voice calm and level. “I think you will definitely kill yourself if you try to drive home now.” She tried to protest, but he cut her off. “Look, Benedick is going to be by himself in the flat until three, which gives you a solid four hours to see him. Then, when people start coming back from class, you can just say you were visiting me. Okay?” 

Beatrice stared at him, her eyes widening as she heard his plan.

“I- I don’t know, Pedro,” she stammered. “I mean, how can we be sure people will—“

“I bet Ben will make you tea,” Pedro interrupted. 

Beatrice looked like someone had just promised her all the gold in the world. 

“You think?” She said, wistfully. “I mean, he wouldn’t have-“

“Earl Grey?” Pedro smirked. “Believe me, he does.” 

Beatrice’s dreamy face broke into a wide grin. It filled her face, crinkling her eyes and making her look more awake than she had all morning. 

“Okay,” she said, confidence returning to her voice. “I’ll go.”

“Good,” Pedro said, checking his watch. “Shit, I really have to go as well. Class.”

“Right. Pedro?” Beatrice asked, as he hurriedly grabbed his bag. 

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Literally anytime, Bea,” he said, hoisting the bag over his shoulder. “As a founding member of Team Love Gods, I think it's my sworn duty to bring you two together.” 

“Oh _wow_ ,” Beatrice said, bemusedly. “That’s never going to go away, is it?”

“Yeah, nah,” Pedro smiled, waving back at her before booking it out of the coffee shop. 

Beatrice sunk back in the chair again, imagining a warm cup of Earl Grey in her hands. Then - the next part was all a bit of a blur for her - but soon she found herself at Benedick’s door for the second time that morning. There was only a moment’s hesitation before she knocked, gently. 

And then Benedick opened the door. 

“Hi,” she said, sleepily. “Miss me?” 

They both knew the answer to that. 


End file.
